Low-water alarm and indicator for boilers



(No Model.)

0. HULTS. LOW WATER ALARM AND INDICATOR FORBOILERS. No. 358,667.

Pate'ntedMar. 1, 1887 INVENTOR 9 WITNESSES ATTORNEYS;

N. PETERS, Plwm-Uthngnphur, Wuhinglon. D, C.

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7 CHARLES HULTS, OF TORCH LAKE, MICHIGAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 358,667, dated March 1,1867.

No model.)

proper indicator located upon the boiler, to-

gether with an alarm from the whistle.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a boiler, partly sectional, with my indicator and alarm at tached, the water in said boiler being at a proper height; and Fig. 2 is also a side elevation similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the operation of the device, however, at low water. Fig. 3 is a detail view of a portion of the op-- erative part. Fig. 4 shows the signal-board.

In the construction and application of my in vention I provide a vertical frame, A, adapted for attachment at the top of a boiler, A, the said frame being preferably formed with an inner perpendicular bar, a, a short top horizontal bar, a, and an outwardly-inclined rear bar, to. Both of the said upright bars a and a are provided with ajoint, I), in the same plane slightly above the boiler A, the purpose of which will be hereinafter stated, and about the center, upon the inside of the inclined bar a a lug, b, is formed integral therewith. The entire frame A above the said joint I) may be made of a single piece of metal.

A stem, B, is entered through an aperture in the top of the frame A, and made to project downward into the boiler A through a stuffing-box, l3, screwed steam-tight in the casing of said boiler, the gland c of which is made to project through the said stuffingboX below the same and form a bearing for the stem B, the lower projecting portion of said gland acting as a stay or brace therefor. The

gland c is in turn made to serve as a stuffingboX for a second upper gland, 0. Thus, as it were, a double stuffing-box is provided the said stem 13.

The top of the stem Bis furnished with a detachable hand-wheel, G, and the lower eX- tremity thereof with a ball, (I, which ball is made to engage a central socket in the float D, the said float being adapted to rest upon the water contained in the boiler. Through the medium of this ballandsocket connection the float D is enabled to move with the water in the event the same is disturbed without straining the stem. To the offset b of the inclined bar a one arm, 6, of a toggle-lever, E, is pivoted, the other arm, e, thereof being projected beyond the perpendicular bar a of the frame to a pivotal connection with the lower end of a spring, (1', whose upper end is curved inward and attached to the said perpendicular bar a, near the top, upon its outer side. The arm 0 of the togglelever E is also pivoted by the same 'pivoted bolt, forming the connection with the said spring cl to a horizontal rod, F, which rod, at its other end, is entered through a casing, f, supported usually above the top of the boiler in front, having formed upon its supports, near the bottom, a shelf, f. Thesaidrod F, inits passage through the casing f, is made to enter an aperture in a lettered board, f (shown in Fig. 4,) and sustain the same when the water is at a proper height within the inclosuref, as illustrated in Fig. l. The valve of the whistle G is also connected to the horizontal rod F by a suitable lever, g.

A horizontal arm, H, is attached to the inclined bar a of the frame A, provided with a set-screw, h, upon which the arm e of the toggle-lever E is adapted to rest, whereby the throw of the said lever is regulated. Another horizontal arm, K, is attached to the perpendicular bar a, and has centrally pivoted at the end thereof a pin, 70, upon one end of which pin the arm 6 of the toggle-lever rests. Above the said toggle-lever E in its normal position, and also above the pivoted pin 70, a circular plate, M, is adjustably secured to the stem B, the said plate being adapted at the proper time to engage one end of said pivoted pin and trip the said toggle-lever.

The operation is as follows: The throw of the toggle-levers having been adjusted by the set screw it, the circular plate M is secured in position upon stein B at such a distance above the toggle-leverE as will bring the two in line when the float D is at a predetermined depth within the boiler. As the water diminishes, the float, resting upon the surface thereof, carries downward with it the stem B, and when the low-water line is reached the circular plate M engages one end of the pivoted pin h, and, bearing down thereon, causes the outer end of said pin to bear against the under edge of the toggle-lever and raise the same at the center, whereupon through the contraction of the attached spring d the said toggle-lever is carried upward, as shown in Fig. 2, and simultaneously through the connected rod F the whistle G is blown and the boardf released to drop down upon the shelf f and display to the engineer or party in attendance the words danger, water low in the boiler, or ,other equally expressive sentence. YVhen it is desired to clean the brace or bearing for the stem and the stem itself, the bolts.are withdrawn at b, the connection with the toggle-lever E of the rod F broken, and the hand-wheel G unscrewed from the stem B. The frame and its connections are then readily removed. The gland c is now loosened and taken out and cleaned and the stem drawn upward and likewise treated.

In transportation, to prevent the stem B from being strained, the said stem is drawn upward until the float comes in contact with 0 the brace or bearing 0, and secured in position by the set-screw min the top bar, a, of the frame.

I purpose to construct the operative parts of my device of a non-corrosive metal, or incase the same in a suitable manner,

. stead, and the float, instead of being attached with a ball-and-socket joint to the stem, may

be fastened rigidly thereto. The ball-joint is, however, preferred. The rod F may be also substituted bya wire attached to a pin passing through the casing f to an engagementwith the indicator f.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by'Letters Patent, is

1. In a boileralarm, the combination, with the float-rod carrying an adjustable plate, M, and toggle-levers connected at one end with a signal device and a spring, and said spring, of the arm K, and the pink, pivoted on said arm, substantially as shown and described, and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with the boiler A and a jointed frame, A, attached thereto, togglelevers E, pivoted at one end to said frame and at the other to a spring, F, and signal devices,

the said spring F, and horizontal arm K, having centrally pivoted thereto a pin, k, of the float-rod B, provided with a hand-wheel, O,

and adjustable circular plate M, and a float,

D, attached thereto by a ball-and-socket joint, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, with the boiler A and a jointed frame secured thereto, provided with an arm, H, carrying an adjusting-screw, h, an arm, K,- having pivoted centrally to its end a pin, 70, the toggle-levers E, connected at one end to said frame and at the otherto a spring, F, and alarm devices, and the said spring F, ofa float-rod, B, provided with an adjustable circular plate, M, and a float attached thereto by a balland-socket joint, substantially as shown and described, whereby notice is given when the water in said boileris low, as set forth.

CHARLES HULTS. \Vitnesses:

F. T. PUsEY, DELLA F. PUsEY. 

